From Street Fights to Physical Culture: Burn's Gavin Van Vlack on MMA, NYHC

Since his early days growing up in New York City's Lower East Side, two things have been constant in Gavin Van Vlack's life: music and fighting. The guitarist has been a staple of the NYHC scene since he founded the influential band Burn in 1989, and he's also got a lifetime of fighting under his belt (from the streets to the ring and everywhere in between). In 2015, Van Vlack merged those two worlds and opened Brooklyn's Physical Culture Collective — a Muay Thai, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and conditioning gym that has become a hot spot for hardcore musicians and fitness enthusiasts. We spent a day with Gavin during which he demonstrates how both music and fight culture are vital to his creativity and pursuit of a balanced life.